Turkish lawmakers on Monday debated sweeping constitutional reforms that would see the president elected by popular vote, as they sought a way out of a damaging crisis concerning Turkey's secular fabric. The session got off to a heated debate between members of the ruling party and the main opposition over the timing of the proposal, which calls for a two-round popular vote to elect the head of state, who is currently chosen by parliament. The opposition argued that with early general elections already scheduled for July 22, the time was not ripe for parliament to make radical changes to the presidential selection system.Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is confident it can push the reforms through parliament thanks to the backing of a small centre-right party, which will provide enough votes to secure the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution. The reform package would also modify the presidency to run for a once-renewable, five-year mandate instead of the current single, seven-year term, and calls for holding general elections every four years instead of the current five. Monday's debate came a day after parliament failed, for a second time, to elect a president, with an opposition boycott preventing parliament reaching the required quorum for a vote.